MSI : One of the Big 4 will exit the market beyond 3 years

Manufacturing motherboards has always been a tough business, with razor thin margins at the low end, high overhead costs, and the need to constantly reinvent yourself, making R&D another priority. As a result, doom and gloom reports of manufacturers quitting the business are nothing new, especially given the loose-lipped nature of Taiwan, where rumors can spread like wildfire. abit is the latest manufacturer to quit the business, but their demise had been rumored for years before it actually happened.

The industry heavyweights, ASUS, Gigabyte, ECS, and MSI have escaped largely unscathed until now, with MSI VP Henry Lu telling DigiTimes one of these companies could exit the market beginning in 2012: